It's claimed that you could be saving your health, animals and the environment.

People who practise a vegan lifestyle seek to exclude all forms of animal exploitation in their food, clothing or life choices.

This World Vegan Month, here are five reasons why you may want to consider becoming vegan:

1. Become healthier overall

Well-planned vegan diets, supporters allege, are rich in protein, iron, calcium and other important vitamins and nutrients, and because they are plant-based, they tend to be low in saturated fat, rich in fibre and full of antioxidants. This helps fight chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

A post shared by Gabriele | 4.5 year old Vegan (@gabbynow) on Oct 22, 2017 at 4:44am PDT

2. You'd reduce animal cruelty

In recent years, more and more horrific conditions under which factory-farmed animals live have been exposed. The meat you eat may come from an animal that has not been allowed to breed freely, has been treated harshly its whole life, and killed brutally.

3. Save the planet

Feed for farm animals requires land and water -- natural resources that are growing scarcer.

According to the United Nations, animal agriculture is the third-largest contributor to greenhouse emissions, after electricity production and household heating. The organisation also reported that a vegan diet means more food available to more people than an animal-based diet.

Have you ever calculated how much money you spend on meat? South Africa's already high meat prices are predicted to rise even further in the near future, because of limited availability of slaughter stock. Plus, the protein in meat is found in plenty of plants –– although, be aware that it's much trickier to provide your body with certain essential amino acids from a plant-only diet.

5. Vegan food can be delicious

There are a growing number of vegan blogs, cookbooks and restaurants that prove that vegan dishes do not need to be an uninspiring pile of boiled vegetables. Any vegan will tell you that there are plenty of delicious vegan salads, burgers and even desserts.